Wear Protection Assembly

ABSTRACT

A wear protection assembly for earth working machinery includes a number of corner shrouds, each corner shroud being adapted to be joined to an external edge of the earth working machinery, and fasteners for separately and releasably securing each of the corner shrouds to the earth working machinery. Also disclosed is a wear protection assembly for earth working machinery, including a first set of wear strips being adapted to be joined to an external surface of the earth working machinery, a second set of wear strips being adapted to be joined to an internal surface of the earth working machinery, and fasteners for separately and releasably securing each of the wear strips to the earth working machinery. Also disclosed is a wear protection assembly for earth working machinery, including one or more external wear plates being adapted to be joined to an external surface of the earth working machinery, one or more internal wear plates being adapted to be joined to an internal surface of the earth working machinery, and fasteners for separately and releasably securing each of the internal and external wear plates to the earth working machinery.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wear protection assembly.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a wear protection assembly for an earth working tool, such as an excavator bucket.

BACKGROUND ART

Excavators are widely used in the construction and mining industries to move around ground and rocks. In many of these applications, the excavators use buckets with which to pick up the earth and rocks and either load it onto trucks or move it to a different location. This use exposes the buckets to extreme friction wearing. Conventional buckets are thus made of strong materials, such as high performance steel, and are also made relatively large so that the steel does not quickly wear through.

If a bucket becomes damaged, it normally needs to be replaced and returned to a workshop for repair—during such time, the excavator cannot be used and thus stands idle, which leads to further wasted costs. Accordingly, many manufacturers have resorted to providing additional strengthening and abrasion resistance, by welding wear plates onto their buckets. For example, the CAT Excavator Heavy Duty Bucket is provided with side wear plates and horizontal bottom wear plates, which are welded onto the bucket. Although such wear plates do strengthen the bucket and reduce the likelihood of damage, they still have a disadvantage in the wear plates cannot easily be repaired onsite and thus the bucket must still be returned to a workshop for repair. Also, the repair can be time consuming as welding is required to remove the damaged plate and to affix the new replacement plate.

It is an object of the invention to suggest a wear protection assembly, which will assist in at least partially overcoming these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wear protection assembly for earth working machinery, comprising:

-   -   a plurality of corner shrouds being adapted to be joined to an         external edge of the earth working machinery; and     -   attachment means for separately and releasably securing each of         the corner shrouds to the earth working machinery.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wear protection assembly for earth working machinery, comprising:

-   -   a first set of wear strips being adapted to be joined to an         external surface of the earth working machinery;     -   a second set of wear strips being adapted to be joined to an         internal surface of the earth working machinery; and     -   attachment means for separately and releasably securing each of         the wear strips to the earth working machinery.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wear protection assembly for earth working machinery, comprising:

-   -   one or more wear plates being adapted to be joined to an         external surface of the earth working machinery;     -   one or more wear plates being adapted to be joined to an         internal surface of the earth working machinery; and     -   attachment means for separately and releasably securing each of         the wear plates to the earth working machinery.

The earth working machinery may be an excavator bucket having a floor leading to a heel and having opposed side panels, wherein the wear protection assembly is adapted to be secured to an external corner between the floor and the side panels and/or an external corner between the heel and the side panels.

The corner shrouds may be substantially L shaped having two divergent legs that extend from a mutual vertex to separate terminal ends, wherein the legs are tapered having a thicker cross-section at the vertex than at the terminal ends.

The attachment means may extend substantially from the external surface of the earth working machinery to the internal surface of the earth working machinery.

The corner shrouds may have countersunk passages for receiving the attachment means.

The attachment means may include threaded bolts and nuts.

The attachment means may be plough bolts.

The, or each, plough bolt may extend substantially from the external surface of the earth working machinery through to the internal surface of the earth working machinery.

The wear protection assembly may include a plurality of gusset plates being associated with the plurality of corner shrouds, wherein the gusset plates are adapted to be located on a side of the earth working machinery being opposed to the corner shrouds, so that the earth working machinery is sandwiched between the corner shrouds and the gusset plates.

The gusset plates may include one or more braces located operatively forward of the attachment means, whereby the braces are arranged to protect the attachment means during use.

The braces may further be are arranged to increase the rigidity of the gusset plates for providing structural support to a corner edge of the earth working machinery abutting the gusset plates.

The gusset plates may include one or more side walls, whereby the walls are arranged to increase the rigidity of the gusset plates for providing structural support to a corner edge of the earth working machinery abutting the gusset plates.

The wear strips may be in the form of an elongated rod having a substantially rectangular cross-section.

The wear strips may have countersunk passages for receiving the attachment means.

Yet further according to the invention, there is provided an excavator bucket provided with a wear protection assembly, wherein the wear protection assembly comprises:

-   -   a plurality of corner shrouds secured to an external corner of         the excavator bucket;     -   a first set of wear strips secured to an external surface of the         excavator bucket;     -   a second set of wear strips secured to an internal surface of         the excavator bucket; and     -   attachment means for separately and releasably securing each of         the corner shrouds and the wear strips to the excavator bucket.

The wear strips may be adapted to be attached to the earth working machinery so that they are spaced apart from each other and orientated substantially parallel to each other.

The wear strips in the first and second sets of wear strips may be arranged in a staggered formation being offset from each other.

The respective attachment means attaching the first set of wear strips to the bucket may be interposed between the wear strips of the second set of wear strips and, vice versa, the respective attachment means attaching the second set of wear strips to the bucket may be interposed between the wear strips of the first set of wear strips.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an earth working tool, in the form of an excavator bucket, shown provided with a wear protection assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the excavator bucket of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a corner shroud forming part of the wear protection assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the corner shroud of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a gusset plate forming part of the wear protection assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded partial perspective view of the excavator bucket, showing the manner of attaching the corner shroud and gusset plate thereto;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional side view of the excavator bucket of FIG. 6, wherein the corner shroud and gusset plate are fully attached thereto;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the excavator bucket being provided with a further wear protection assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention, wherein the wear protection assembly comprises wear strips shown in a partially attached state;

FIG. 9 is a sectional end view of the excavator bucket of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional perspective view of a part of the excavator bucket of FIG. 9, showing the manner of attaching the wear strips to the excavator bucket;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the wear strip of FIGS. 8 to 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the wear strip shown of FIGS. 8 to 10;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the excavator bucket being provided with a further wear protection assembly according to a third embodiment of the invention, wherein the wear protection assembly comprises wear plates shown in a partially attached state;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of a wear plate forming part of the wear protection assembly shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a sectional end view of the excavator bucket of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged sectional perspective view of a part of the excavator bucket of FIG. 13, showing the manner of attaching the wear plates to the excavator bucket;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged perspective view of an alternative corner shroud forming part of the wear protection assembly according to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 is a side view of the alternative corner shroud of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is an end view of the alternative corner shroud of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is an enlarged perspective view of an alternative gusset plate forming part of the wear protection assembly according to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 is a side view of the alternative gusset plate of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is an end view of the alternative gusset plate of FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 is a partial sectional side view of the excavator bucket of FIG. 6, wherein the alternative corner shroud of FIG. 17 and alternative gusset plate of FIG. 20 are fully attached thereto;

FIG. 24 is a side view of a first plough bolt forming part of the wear protection assembly according to the first, second and third embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 25 is a side view of a second plough bolt forming part of the wear protection assembly according to the first, second and third embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 26 is a top view of each of the plough bolts shown in FIGS. 24 and 25; and

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the second plough shown in FIG. 25.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7 of the drawings, a first embodiment of a wear protection assembly, being generally indicated by reference numeral 100, is shown attached to an earth working tool in the form of an excavator bucket 102. The wear protection assembly 100 is adapted to protect the bucket 102 during use to prevent excessive wearing of the bucket 102 due to friction thereof, e.g. with ground, rocks or other construction materials.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bucket 102 includes a floor 104 that leads via an integrally curved heel 106 to a top panel 108. The floor 104 has an operative forward base edge 110 onto which can be mounted various ground engaging tools, such as tips or teeth 112. Two side panels 114, 116 extend perpendicularly between the floor 104 and the top panel 108 to form the open bucket 102. The side panels 114, 116 each include forward side bars 118, 120 that join the floor 104 to the top panel 108, and side plates 122, 124 that extend from the side bars 118, 120 to the heel 106.

A hinge assembly 126 is provided on the top panel 108 to permit the bucket 102 to be joined to an excavator.

The first embodiment of the wear protection assembly 100 is particularly directed towards protecting rear joint edges 128, 130 of the bucket 102 where the side plates 122, 124 join to the heel 106. Accordingly, the wear protection assembly 100 comprises a plurality of corner shrouds 132 that are held in position by being attached to an associated plurality of gusset plates 134 by bolts 136 and bolt nuts 137 extending through the bucket 102. The corner shrouds 132 are discretely spaced apart along the outside of the joint edges 128, 130, whereas the gusset plates 134 are located internally of the joint edges 128, 130 and preferably being in close abutting contact with each other.

As is more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the corner shrouds 132 are substantially L-shaped in side view having two legs 138, 140 extending at right angles to each other. The legs 138, 140 have a tapered side view cross-section such that their terminal ends 142, 144 are narrower than their joining vertex 146. The widening at the vertex 146 increases the bulk of the corner shrouds 132 and thus provides greater wear protection. Each leg 138, 140 is centrally provided with a countersunk passage 148 for receiving the bolts 136.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the gusset plates 134 are also substantially L-shaped in side view having two legs 150, 152 extending at right angles to each other, which legs 150, 152 have a substantially uniform thickness in side view cross-section. Each leg 150, 152 is provided with a pair of passages 154 for receiving the bolts 136. A pair of triangular braces 156 extend between the legs 150, 152, whereby the braces 156 are located operatively forward of passages 154. Thus, in use, the braces 156 assist in provided structural rigidity to the legs 150, 152, thereby increasing the rigidity of the gusset plates 134 for providing structural support to a corner of the bucket 102 abutting the gusset plates 134. Furthermore, the braces 156 also provide a degree of protection for the bolt nuts 137 to material being scooped up by the bucket 102.

It is envisaged that the bolts 136 will be of the plough bolt type and be applied from outside the bucket 102 so that the bolt heads can be fully received within the countersunk passages 148, thereby providing a degree of protection to the bolt heads so that they do not encounter excessive friction in use. As can be seen in FIG. 7, the outer extents of the bolt head is preferably located fully within the passages 148.

A further advantage of such plough bolts 136 is that, as best shown in FIG. 26, they have a polygonal section 139 in the neck of their shaft 141. The polygonal section 139 is able to engage with the countersunk passage 148 in each leg 138, 140 so that the bolt cannot rotate in the passage 148, thereby enabling the bolt nut to be tightened relatively easily from within the bucket 102.

Although it is known to provide side wear plates on conventional excavator buckets, these plates are welded into place onto the side plates 122, 124. Accordingly, in use, it tends to be difficult to replace the side wear plates if they become too worn or damaged during such use, therefore requiring the bucket 102 to be dispatched to a workshop for repair. Also, if only a small section of such side wear plates become worn through, it may be necessary to replace the entire side wear plate, resulting in increased material wastage and costs.

Contrary to the above problems, the present invention is directed to an easily replaceable wear protection assembly 100, wherein the individual corner shrouds 132 and gusset plates 134 can be manually removed onsite by an operator of the excavator. This is achieved by simply unscrewing the bolts 136 and nuts 137 to remove and substitute the damaged or worn corner shroud 132 with a new part.

As is shown in FIG. 2, adjacent corner shrouds 132 are spaced apart from each other by wedge shaped load blocks 158, which are located by welding the load blocks 158 to one or both its adjacent corner shrouds 132. The load blocks 158 are adapted to support their adjacent corner shrouds 132 in use, thereby to limit any shear forces exerted on the bolts 136, i.e. the shear forces exerted on one corner shroud 132 are largely evenly distributed across all the corner shrouds 132. Accordingly the load blocks 132 reduce the risk of the bolts 136 snapping or coming loose and also reduces the risk of the bolts 136 damaging the bucket 102 in use. Preferably the load blocks 158 do not project outwardly beyond the corner shrouds 132, so that they are exposed to limited frictional wearing and thus need not be regularly replaced.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 to 12 of the drawings, a second embodiment of a wear protection assembly, being generally indicated by reference numeral 170, is shown being attached to the excavator bucket 102. The wear protection assembly 170 is also adapted to protect the bucket 102 during use to prevent excessive wearing of the bucket 102 due to friction, e.g. with ground, rocks or other construction materials.

This second embodiment of the wear protection assembly 170 is particularly directed towards protecting both the inside and outside of the floor 104 and heel 106 of the bucket 102. Accordingly, the wear protection assembly 170 comprises a first set of spaced apart internal wear strips 172 being located within the bucket 102 and a second set of spaced apart external wear strips 174 being located external to the bucket 102.

The internal and external wear strips 172, 174 are in the form of elongated rectangular rods, having a number of countersunk bolt passages 176 discretely spaced apart along the length thereof for receiving bolts 178 to be threaded onto nuts 180. Similarly as described above, the bolts 178 will preferably be of the plough bolt type, whereby their bolt heads can be recessed within the passages 176.

The internal wear strips 172 and external wear strips 174 are arranged to extend across the width of the floor 104 between the side panels 114, 116. Alternatively, if the bucket 102 is simultaneously fitted with the first wear protection assembly 100, the wear strips 172 and 174 will extend between the gusset plates 134. The respective internal wear strips 172 are arranged to be substantially parallel to each other. Similarly, the external wear strips 174 are arranged to be substantially parallel to each other.

Further, the respective wear strips 172 and 174 are arranged in a staggered formation being offset from each other along the floor 104 and heel 106 so that none of the wear strips 172 and 174 are directly opposed to each other on opposite sides of the bucket 102. The staggering provides an advantage in that the nuts 180 that secure the external wear strips 174 are thereby located between the internal wear strips 172. Conversely, the nuts 180 that secure the internal wear strips 172 are located between the external wear strips 174. Thus, in use, any ground being scooped up by the bucket 102 will not impart a great friction force directly onto the nuts 180, but such friction force will be borne by the wear strips 172 and 174.

As shown in FIG. 12, for wider buckets 102, it is possible to attach two, or more, shorter strips that are longitudinally aligned with each other.

Referring now to FIGS. 13 to 16 of the drawings, a third embodiment of a wear protection assembly, being generally indicated by reference numeral 182, is shown being attached to the excavator bucket 102. The wear protection assembly 182 is also adapted to protect the bucket 102 during use to prevent excessive wearing of the bucket 102 due to friction, e.g. with ground, rocks or other construction materials.

Like the second embodiment of the wear protection assembly 170, this third embodiment 182 is, similarly, directed towards protecting both the inside and outside of the floor 104 and heel 106 of the bucket 102. Accordingly, the wear protection assembly 182 comprises a first set of internal wear plates 184 being located within the bucket 102 and a second set of external wear plates 186 being located external to the bucket 102.

The internal and external wear plates 184, 186 are in the form of rectangular planar surfaces, each having a number of countersunk bolt passages 188 discretely spaced apart along the surface thereof for receiving bolts 190 to be threaded onto nuts 192. Similarly as described above, the bolts 190 will preferably be of the plough bolt type, whereby their bolt heads can be recessed within the passages 188.

The wear plates comprised in both the internal and external sets of wear plates 184,186 are each arranged in a tiled configuration and substantially extend across the width of the floor 104 between the side panels 114, 116. Alternatively, if the bucket 102 is simultaneously fitted with the first wear protection assembly 100, the wear plates will extend between the gusset plates 134. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, each set of wear plates 184,186 comprises four wear plates arranged in a tiled configuration. It will appreciated, however, that each set may comprise an alternative number of wear plates such as, for example, two wear plates. Similarly, instead of a set of wear plates, a single wear plate may be used on the internal and external sides of the bucket 102, whereby each plate substantially extends across the width of the floor 104 between the side panels 114, 116.

Referring now to FIGS. 17 to 19 of the drawings, there is shown a second, alternate form of corner shroud, being generally indicated by reference numeral 194, which may be used as an alternative to the first form of corner shroud 132 shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 for the first embodiment of the wear protection assembly 100. Similar to the first form of corner shroud 132, the alternate corner shroud 194 is substantially L-shaped in side view and comprises two legs 196,198 extending at right angles to each other. Each leg 196,198 is, however, provided with two countersunk passages 200 for receiving the bolts 136. Each leg 196,198 additionally comprises a lifting eye 202 mounted thereon which is adapted to receive a hook (not shown) for lifting and moving the bucket 102 between locations.

FIGS. 20 to 22 of the drawings show a second, alternate form of gusset plate 204 which is used in combination with the alternate corner shrouds 194. Similar to the first form of gusset plate 134, the alternate gusset plate 204 is also substantially L-shaped in side view having two legs 206, 208 extending at right angles to each other, which legs 206, 208 have a substantially uniform thickness in side view cross-section and are provided with a pair of passages 210 for receiving the bolts 136.

Instead of the triangular braces 156 which are comprised in the first form of gusset plate 134, the alternate gusset plate 204 comprises first and second side walls 212,214 each arranged substantially perpendicular to the legs 206, 208. In use, the side walls 212,214 increase the rigidity of the gusset plate 204 for providing structural support to a corner of the bucket 102 abutting the gusset plate 204.

The first and second form of gusset plates 134,204 used in accordance with the first embodiment of the wear protection assembly 100 each comprise a material having significant structural rigidity and resilience, such as a metallic material. The material used may, in addition, have a degree of pliability enabling the gusset plates 134,204 to be deformed partially during installation so that they are flush with the corner of the bucket 102 abutting the gusset plate 134,204.

By providing one of, or a combination of, the wear protection assemblies herein disclosed 100, 170, 182, it is possible to reduce the requisite inherent strength of the bucket 102, i.e. by making it with thinner wall thicknesses for the floor 104 and heel 106. This reduces both the material costs and manufacturing time when making the bucket 102.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to an excavator bucket, it is envisaged that the invention can be applied to any other earth working machinery, such as bulldozers, graders, backhoe loaders, face shovels, front-end loaders or underground load and haul machinery.

Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. 

1. A wear protection assembly for earth working machinery, comprising: a plurality of corner shrouds, each corner shroud being adapted to be joined to an external edge of the earth working machinery; and attachment means for separately and releasably securing each of the corner shrouds to the earth working machinery.
 2. The wear protection assembly according to claim 1, wherein each corner shroud has one or more countersunk passages for receiving the attachment means.
 3. The wear protection assembly according to claim 1, wherein each corner shroud is substantially L shaped and has two divergent legs extending from a mutual vertex to separate terminal ends.
 4. The wear protection assembly according to claim 3, wherein the legs are tapered having a thicker cross-section at the vertex than at their terminal ends.
 5. The wear protection assembly according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of gusset plates being associated with the plurality of corner shrouds, wherein the gusset plates are adapted to be located on a side of the earth working machinery being opposed to the corner shrouds, so that the earth working machinery is sandwiched between the corner shrouds and the gusset plates.
 6. The wear protection assembly according to claim 5, wherein each gusset plate has one or more passages for receiving the attachment means.
 7. The wear protection assembly according to claim 5, wherein each gusset plate includes one or more braces affixed thereto located operatively forward of the attachment means, whereby the braces are arranged to protect the attachment means during use.
 8. The wear protection assembly according to claim 7, wherein each brace also provides structural support to a corner edge of the earth working machinery abutting the gusset plate that the brace is affixed to.
 9. The wear protection assembly according to claim 5, wherein each gusset plate includes one or more side walls, wherein each side wall is arranged to increase the rigidity of the gusset plate for providing structural support to a corner edge of the earth working machinery abutting the gusset plate.
 10. A wear protection assembly for earth working machinery, comprising: a first set of wear strips being adapted to be joined to an external surface of the earth working machinery; a second set of wear strips being adapted to be joined to an internal surface of the earth working machinery; and attachment means for separately and releasably securing each of the wear strips to the earth working machinery.
 11. The wear protection assembly according to claim 10, wherein each wear strip is in the form of an elongated rod having a substantially rectangular cross-section.
 12. The wear protection assembly according to claim 10, wherein the wear strips have countersunk passages for receiving the attachment means.
 13. The wear protection assembly according to claim 10, wherein the wear strips are adapted to be attached to the earth working machinery so that they are spaced apart from each other and orientated substantially parallel to each other.
 14. The wear protection assembly according to claim 13, wherein the wear strips in the first and second sets of wear strips are arranged in a staggered formation being offset from each other.
 15. A wear protection assembly for earth working machinery, comprising: one or more external wear plates being adapted to be joined to an external surface of the earth working machinery; one or more internal wear plates being adapted to be joined to an internal surface of the earth working machinery; and attachment means for separately and releasably securing each of the internal and external wear plates to the earth working machinery.
 16. The wear protection assembly according to claim 15, wherein the internal and external wear plates have countersunk passages for receiving the attachment means.
 17. The wear protection assembly according to claim 15, comprising: a plurality of external wear plates being adapted to be joined to the external surface of the earth working machinery; and a plurality of internal wear plates being adapted to be joined to the internal surface of the earth working machinery, and wherein the internal and external wear plates are arranged in a tiled configuration.
 18. The wear protection assembly according to claim 1, wherein the attachment means comprises threaded bolts and nuts.
 19. The wear protection assembly according to claim 18, wherein the threaded bolts are plough bolts.
 20. The wear protection assembly according to claim 1, wherein the earth working machinery is an excavator bucket.
 21. An excavator bucket provided with a wear protection assembly, wherein the wear protection assembly comprises: a plurality of corner shrouds secured to an external edge of the excavator bucket; a first set of wear strips secured to an external surface of the excavator bucket; a second set of wear strips secured to an internal surface of the excavator bucket; and attachment means for separately and releasably securing each of the corner shrouds and the wear strips to the excavator bucket. 